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School leaders say they ban people from their property only as a last resort, only when someone
becomes so disruptive that student safety is at risk.

But offenses that spur official bans — called “no-trespass orders” — vary greatly from district
to district, ranging from threats against students to cases in which adults were banned for being
near a school without a good reason.

Among the 16 districts in Franklin County, only six issued no-trespass orders this year,
according to responses to
Dispatch records requests. Those six districts told a total of at least 25 people not to
return to district property.

Bans have dropped significantly in some districts. A decade ago, the Columbus district issued up
to 1,000 no-trespass notices a year, most of them to parents. So far this school year, the district
has issued seven.

Still, some say personal grudges too often lead to bans.

The principal of Columbus’ Briggs High School told retired teacher Bernard Gatti to stay away
after he reported allegations of wrongdoing at Briggs to the district’s internal auditor. Gatti
called it retaliation. District officials counter that Gatti harassed employees at the school,
although he says he has done nothing wrong.

Administrators in other districts who wrote no-trespass orders — Dublin, Hamilton, Hilliard,
Upper Arlington and Westerville — wouldn’t elaborate on cases beyond what was written in the
records they provided.

Nine people were forbidden from district properties after threatening students or staff members.
Six were banned for being disruptive or cursing at school workers. One man brought a pocketknife
into a school, for which he was also arrested.

But in other cases, records don’t explain how there was a threat to safety.

Dublin schools barred the father of a former student in April, “due to your presence at the
Dublin City Schools administrative building parking lot” and “because there was no apparent
business or school district reason for you to be on the property,” according to the order sent to
the man.

The district cited similar reasons when it banned a former student in January.

A student in the Hilliard schools was forbidden from Darby High School because of vandalism “
that you have been rumored to be associated with,” the Darby principal wrote. The district barred a
student from Davidson High School after he emailed a teacher explaining a dream in which he
threatened another student.

“We try to reach other resolutions prior to getting to that point,” said Amanda Morris, a
spokeswoman for the Hilliard district.

After reportedly interrupting a high-school graduation ceremony in the Hamilton district, a
woman received a letter saying she would be unwelcome for a year.

In one order from Westerville, officials forbade a man from calling the district after he
repeatedly called workers. The man now is allowed to contact only the assistant superintendent, the
letter says, and only in writing.

In records provided to
The Dispatch, Westerville school officials redacted the names of people who were banned,
saying they are “uncharged suspects” of crimes. The Hamilton district withheld addresses, saying
they are not public records. People who were identified in the no-trespass orders did not return
calls seeking comment.

Although school officials refused to discuss the cases, a security consultant who specializes in
schools said there usually is more to the story.

“When schools get to the point where they send the no-trespass warnings, it has to have been a
chronic or very serious matter, and it’s typically not the first go-around with the particular
individual that’s banned,” said Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security
Services in Cleveland.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued schools in other states after they barred parents
from their property, saying parents too often end up blacklisted after they challenge school
administrations.

Meanwhile, bans have faded in some districts as officials opt for other ways to resolve
conflict. Francis Scruci, the superintendent of Gahanna-Jefferson schools, said he doesn’t remember
the last time the district sent a no-trespass letter.